"We had to travel for a game in the Czech league against Olomouc with two juniors in the team for Saturday's match."

Spartak and USK Prague suffered contrasting fortunes in the group stage of the competition, with the Czechs finishing bottom of Group B with a 1-9 record, while the Russian outfit topped Group A after losing just once in 10 outings.

And Blazek knows the odds are stacked against his team in Russia.

"There is no question who are the favourites for this series but we want to make the best of what we can," he said.

"There are many very good players in the Spartak team and they can make two very strong starting fives. [But] we have a problem to find 10 players for the game in Moscow. Daley will definitely not play and I hope Sandra LeDrean and Sviatlana Volnaya will be back."